%0 Journal Article
%J Tropical Zoology
%D 2018
%T Small and large spatial scale coexistence of ctenid spiders in a neotropical forest (French Guiana)
%A Petillon, J
%A Leroy, Boris
%A Djoudi, EA
%A Vedel, V
%K Araneae
%K flooding
%K Guianese shield
%K inselberg
%K juveniles
%X While spiders constitute the most abundant and diverse arthropods in many habitats, they remained under-studied, especially in tropical rainforests. The goal of this study is to assess the spatial distribution of the spider family Ctenidae by assessing associations of species diversity and population traits among different habitat conditions. Fieldwork was carried out during 2013 in habitats varying in flooding frequency (plateau vs. flooded forest) and elevation (inselberg vs. lowland) in the Nouragues National Natural Reserve, French Guiana. Assemblage composition, population structure, and trait measurements of one dominant species were assessed using hand collection in replicated quadrats. We found strong effects on ctenid assemblages attributable to both elevation and flooding, with changes in relative abundance of species among habitats, but few correlated densities between species. At the population level, main differences in species distribution between and within habitats were detected only when juveniles were taken into account. No effect of elevation was found on the measurements of traits of the dominant species, but legs were proportionally shorter in flooded habitats, suggesting reduced active dispersal in these habitats. Our study highlights the value of complementary of measures of diversity and traits at different biological scales in Ctenidae.
%B Tropical Zoology
%V 31
%P 85-98
%8 04/2018
%G eng
%U https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03946975.2018.1448531
%N 2
%R https://doi.org/10.1080/03946975.2018.1448531
%0 Journal Article
%J Ecological Indicators
%D 2014
%T Complementarity of rarity, specialisation and functional diversity metrics to assess community responses to environmental changes, using an example of spider communities in salt marshes
%A Leroy, Boris
%A Le Viol, Isabelle
%A Petillon, J
%K Community Specialisation Index
%K CSI
%K Cutting
%K FDiv
%K Functional divergence
%K Functional Divergence Index
%K Grazing
%K Index of Relative Rarity
%K IRR
%K Species Specialisation Index
%K spiders
%K SSI
%X The study of community responses to environmental changes can be enhanced by the recent development of new metrics useful in applied conservation: relative rarity, ecological specialisation and functional diversity. These different metrics have been critically assessed independently, but are rarely combined in applied conservation studies, especially for less-studied taxa such as arthropods. Here we report how these different metrics can complement each other by using the response of spider communities to environmental changes in salt marshes as an example. Sampling took place using pitfall traps in salt marshes of the Mont St Michel Bay (France) during 2004 and 2007. The sampling design was spatially replicated (3 plots per treatment and 4 traps per plot) and encompassed four habitat treatments: control, sheep grazing, cutting (annual, in summer) and invasion by the plant Elymus athericus. We observed contrasting responses of spider communities to the different treatments: grazing had a negative impact on both rarity and functional diversity but a positive impact on specialisation; cutting had a negative impact on the three metrics; and invasion only had a negative impact on rarity and specialisation. These contrasting responses emphasise the necessity of using different complementary community metrics in such conservation studies. Consequently, rarity-, specialisation-, and functional-based indices should be applied simultaneously more frequently, as they potentially provide additional complementary information about communities. Such complementary information is the key to better-informed conservation choices.
%B Ecological Indicators
%V 46
%P 351–357
%G eng
%U http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X14002908
%R 10.1016/j.ecolind.2014.06.037
%0 Journal Article
%J Biological Journal of the Linnean Society
%D 2014
%T Intra- and inter-specific variation in size and habitus of two sibling spider species (Araneae: Lycosidae): taxonomic and biogeographic insights from sampling across Europe
%A Puzin, C
%A Leroy, Boris
%A Petillon, J
%B Biological Journal of the Linnean Society
%V 113
%P 85–96
%G eng
%U http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/bij.12303
%R 10.1111/bij.12303